Bourbon Butterscotch Blondies

Over the past few years, my husband has become quite the Kentucky Straight Bourbon Connoisseur. It makes gift-giving easy, I just take him to the liquor store and let him choose, but if it was up to him we'd be there for hours! In a bit of irony, last fall we decided to go tour the Kentucky Bourbon Trail this summer when we're in Cincinnati visiting family. I never was a big bourbon drinker, but now I definitely won't be involved in the sampling! 

When I saw these bars on Erin's Food Files, I knew they would be a great contribution to a family pot-luck we had on the calendar. These bars are so easy to make, and taste wonderful. The bourbon flavor is present, but not overpowering. The butterscotch tastes like caramel and the buttery bars melt in your mouth. The hardest part to making these was waiting on JJ to decide which bourbon he could spare. In the end, he decided to go with his favorite, and the one he's got the most of, Maker's Mark. I made a double batch of these bars, and put them in a 1/2 sheet pan, so they were pretty thin. I also made them again in a 9x13 pan and they were thick and more chewy, either way is delicious! 

Butterscotch Bourbon Bars

from Erin's Food Files, adapted from frites and fries

1 c. unbleached, AP Flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1  c. light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/4 c. butter, melted

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. butterscotch chips

2 tbsp. Bourbon (great with both Maker's Mark and Old Granddad, Erin recommended Bulleit as well)

Preheat oven to 350*

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.

In a small bowl, whisk butter, milk, vanilla and egg.

Pour wet into dry, add the bourbon and chips, and stir until flour is absorbed.

(Batter will be thick, do not overmix!)

Pour into a parchment lined 9" square pan, press with a spatula into an even layer.

Place in the oven, bake for 20 minutes, using a toothpick to test the center for doneness.

Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and slice into bars. 

Traditional (or Sparkling) Sangria

I absolutely love Sangria. I love a nice dry red wine and a splash of citrus and a bit of sweetness. I usually add a bit of sparkling water to mine to stretch it out (so I can drink more) and it also makes it much cheaper for a group. I decided to set up a little bar so people had the choice of regular or sparkling.
This is a pretty traditional recipe, it's really a personal preference thing. Recently a new, huge market called Sahara Mart opened in Bloomington. They had a big wine tasting event last weekend that JJ and I went to. We then went over to the store and checked out their wine selection, which was HUGE. Like most wine shops, it's sorted by country of origin. What I love about Sahara Mart is they also carry a large selection of organic wines. I decided to grab 2 bottles of an inexpensive Spanish Organic Red.

Traditional Sangria

1/4 c. Brandy

1/4 c. powdered sugar

3 lemons

3 limes

2 oranges

2 bottles of Red Wine

Sparkling water (optional)

Pour brandy and powdered sugar into a pitcher. Whisk until sugar dissolves.

Juice 1 lemon, 1 lime and 1 orange. Add to pitcher.

Add 2 bottles of wine.

Slice the remaining orange, a lemon and a lime. Add to the pitcher, stir and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or overnight.

Before serving, fill pitcher with ice and slice remaining lemon and lime for garnish.

Cranberry Champagne Punch with Raspberry Cubes

One great way to really stretch a buck and serve alcohol at a party is by making punch. I've had so many kinds, but this is by far my favorite. It's so simple, but the cubes really add something nice!

Cranberry Champagne Punch

with Raspberry Cubes

1 can of cranberry juice concentrate from freezer section

1 package frozen raspberries

1 liter of club soda (VERY cold)

1 2 liter of ginger ale (VERY cold)

2 bottles of cheap champagne (i'm taking the $5/bottle stuff) (VERY cold)

Make ice cubes at least 8 hours in advance.

Add juice concentrate to a small pitcher, add 1 can of water.

Drop raspberries into ice cube tray. Pour juice over top. Freeze.

When ready to serve - Add club soda, ginger ale, and champagne to a punch bowl.

Drop in ice cubs (I made 5 trays and added them a bit at a time thru the night)

Birthday Cake for Dave! And Irish Car Bombs for Me!

It's become sort of a tradition for me to try to perfect Dave's birthday cake of choice - Mandarin Orange filled cake. Last year I went with wilton's butter cake and butter cream recipe, but it was dry and not so good. This year I tried out the ATK Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake, and the cake was wonderful! I used my basic buttercream to ice it, but thinned it out to make it more of a glaze and filled the middle with mandarin orange segments.

I was prepared to decorate this with twigs of orange blossoms, but thanks to my sister taking me for drinks to celebrate my birthday, I was not capable of decorating the cake...

So here is the recipe for the Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake courtesy of ATK

Makes two 9-inch cake layers

2 1/2 cups cake flour , plus extra for dusting pans

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1 3/4 cups sugar (12 1/4 ounces)

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly

1 cup buttermilk , room temperature

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks , room temperature

3 large egg whites , room temperature
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch-wide by 2-inch-high round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in large bowl. In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.
2. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With machine running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds (whites should hold peak but mixture should appear moist). Transfer to bowl and set aside.
3. Add flour mixture to now-empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.
4. Using rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten, then add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Lightly tap pans against counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any large air bubbles.
5. Bake until cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with small knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and peel off parchment. Invert cakes again and cool completely on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

And here is the drinking that led to the not-exactly-as-planned decorating....

Irish Car Bomb, recipe from Katie!

1 pint Guiness

1/2 shot Bailey's Irish Creme

1/2 shot Irish Whiskey

Drop the shot in the beer and chug. Repeat...